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Glite Dictionary
luciferase

luciferase

1 8.1
An enzyme in some living things that makes light and helps scientists study genes and cells
  • noun
  • /luːsɪˈfɛrəs/
  • Specialized
: luciferasa
  • The light emission is due to the reaction between luciferin/luciferase and ATP from the enterococci.
  • luciferin and luciferase
  • luciferase activity
  • luciferase reporter

Then we actually sever that histidine tag and we wash it through and we end up with nothing but our luciferase.

Examples

  • In this fruit fly, the luciferase gene has been spliced into the fly's genome under the control of the period promoter.

    Academic text (2005)

  • Photons from the luciferin/luciferase reaction were collected with a CCD camera.

    Academic text (2015)

  • The amount of the luciferase expression tells you how much transfection by the virus.

  • So the mushrooms that do this will have both luciferase and luciferin.

  • When the period is turned on in the fly, so is luciferase, which shines brightly enough to be seen.

    Academic text (2005)

  • The activity of luciferin/luciferase was always checked using a standard ATP solution according to the manufacturer's directions.

    Academic text (2010)

  • After 1 month of treatment with Ba P, SMMC-7721 cells were labeled with luciferase by lentivirus infection.

    Academic text (2015)

  • The autoinducer triggers the synthesis of luciferase, which oxidizes a flavin mononucleotide and tetradecanol to produce light.

    Academic text (1993)

  • In the firefly lantern, thousands of specialized cells called photocytes sequester luciferin and luciferase deep within their interiors.

    Academic text (2003)

  • Fireflies produce light when luciferase reacts with luciferin in their bodies.

Synonyms

Renilla
vsluciferase
  • Specialized
1 9.9

An enzyme that makes light to show how active genes are in cells

is the broader enzyme family used to study gene activity and cell health

Surface Forms

luciferase singular
luciferases plural

Morphology

luciferase = lucifer (opaque) = lucifer + ase

The suffix '-ase' indicates an enzyme, but the connection to 'lucifer' is not transparent to learners without specialized knowledge.

Etymology

The word luciferase comes from the Latin lucifer meaning 'light-bringer' and the enzyme ending -ase, like in lipase. So luciferase is an enzyme that 'brings light', which is why it makes fireflies glow and why scientists use it to make cells glow in experiments.